Automatic coupling for railway-carriages.



. Patented N ov. I8, 1902. J. WILLISUN'. AUTOMATIC COUPLING FOB RAILWAYOARRIAGES.

(Application filed 1hr. 17, 1902.)

(lo $01M.)

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JOHN VVILLISON, OF DERBY, ENGLAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 713,729, datedNovember 18, 1902.

Application filed March 17, 1902. Serial No. QBA'M. (N0 model.)

To all whont it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHN W1LLIsoN,a citizen of England, residing at No.1 Olney Villas, Clarence road, Derby, in the county of Derby, England,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating toAutomatic Couplings for Railway-Carriages, (for which application hasbeen made for a patent in Great Britain, dated December 11, 1901, No.25,283; France,Dece1nber 12, 1901; Germany, December 12, 1901; Belgium,December 16, 1901; Austria, December 14, 1901; and Hungary, December 14,1901,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automatic couplings for railway-carriages; andit consists in a construction and arrangement of the buffers anddraw-bars and their springs and working parts in such a manner that thecouplingknuckles are held tightly together without shake or loose playin their coupled condition, that the coupler when free is always urgedtoward a central position, and that when the coupling-head is subjectedto drawing action it operates on the ordinary drawspring; but when it issubjected to buffing action not only the buffing-spring, but also thedraw-spring is acted on, so that the buffer can yield through a longerstroke than if it acted on a single spring.

I shall describe my invention, referring to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the end part of thecarriage-frame, showing the automatic coupler and its buffer spring insection and some parts above in elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan of the endpart of the frame, the front and half the rear part being shown insection.

(t is the louder-spring, placed between a front follower b and a rearfollower c. In a gab of the front follower is engaged the rounded end ofa piece (1, which extends through the body of the coupler and projectsin front of it. When in coupling two carriages the knuckle of thecoupler of the other carriage meets the end of the piece d, it pushes itback, compressing the spring a, and when the two knuckles of thecouplers are engaged the pressure of the pieces cl against them, due totheir respective springs a, prevents any loose play of the engagedknuckles. The

j, which bears against the lower arm of a lever 70, which is made hollowto accommodate the lever e within it and which forks into two upper armsI, that bear against the front face of the stop g. The hinder face ofthe lower arm of lever 7c is made of considerable width, bearing againstthe block j, so that when the coupling and yoke 2' are deflected toeither side of the middle line the rear of the lever is canted to anangle with the face of the block j, and the spring a is thus compressed.The spring tends to expand and to force the lever 7t close to j over itswhole width, thus urging the coupling and yoke back to the middleposition. When there is a drag of the coupling, the blockj pushesforward the lower arm of the lever 76, causing its upper arm Z to pushback the stop 9 and draw-bar h,compressingtheusualdraw-spring. When thecoupler is subjected to buffing action, the spring Ct is compressed.Also the lower arm of the lever e is pushed back, and its upper arm f,acting on the stop g, draws forward the draw-bar h, compressing itsspring, this spring being arranged in the usual way, so as to becompressed whether it is pressed or pulled. Thus the movement of thecoupler when subjected to buffing action is that due not only to thecompression of the spring a, but also to compression of the ordinarydrawspring.

Having thus described the nature of this invention and the best means Iknow of carrying the same into practical effect, I claim 1. Incombination with an automatic coupler and its buffer-spring, a pieceurged forward by the spring so as to project beyond the body of thecoupler and bear against the engaged knuckle of the other coupler,substantially as described.

2. In combination with the bufier-spring and yoke of an automaticcoupler, a pair of levers having their lower arms engaged be to when thecoupler and yoke are deflected from the middle line, and thebuffer-spring is thus compressed, and urges the parts back to middleposition, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JOHN WILLISON.

Witnesses:

T. HEATH, GEO. WOODHOUSE.

